Friday, September 25, 2009

Understanding DNA Paternity Testing ?

Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or as it is now known as by many, DNA is your identity. Unless you are part of identical twins, you cannot have the same DNA as anyone else. This is what makes you unique. You get your DNA equally from your parents, and establishing your DNA will provide you with conclusive evidence of who your parents are.

This is why requests for DNA paternity tests have been increasing rapidly all around the world. Sadly, it is a reflection of how careless we have become about creation and caring for our children. On the other hand, with DNA paternity tests, a parent can find legal means to establish child support, proof of paternity, and means for identification.

At present, DNA paternity testing is the most accurate, legal, and advanced method of detecting proof of who the father or mother of a child is. If the child is under 18, parental consent must be given before any DNA sample is collected.
Photo: Genetics Home Reference

Who Are Your Biological Parents?

If there is any question about legal rights and identification of biological parents, the only legal recourse that is accepted by the courts is a DNA paternity test. This test will determine if the child’s DNA matches the maternal alleles of the mother, and the paternal alleles of the father. It is possible to get DNA for sampling from the hair, saliva, skin tissue, nails, or blood. You don’t even need a lot of cell tissue. Just one strand of hair, or a swab in the mouth can already provide a medical technician with enough to work with.

Naturally, it is important to get DNA samples from the 3 parties - the child, mother and father. Furthermore, DNA paternity tests are never 100% sure, but it can be established at 99.5%. The .5% is left out on the perchance that someone else may have DNA that will match the DNA of the child.

This is why many laboratories do more than one kind of DNA testing. Some may even do as many as 10 separate tests, and the biological parents must match the child’s DNA in at least 9 out of the 10 tests.
Photo courtesy of: healingdream

What If One Biological Parent Cannot Be Located?

In this kind of scenario where one suspected biological parent is unavailable to submit a DNA sample, the DNA paternity test can still be done, but with less accuracy. Furthermore, for legal purposes, the results of this DNA paternity test may not be accepted by a judge.